Trump:Public Should See Mueller Report 03/21 06:47
President Donald Trump said he believes special counsel Robert Mueller's
report should be released to the public, even as he disparaged its very
existence as "ridiculous."
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump said he believes special counsel
Robert Mueller's report should be released to the public, even as he disparaged
its very existence as "ridiculous."
"Let it come out, let people see it," Trump told reporters as he left the
White House on Wednesday for a trip to Ohio. "Let's see whether or not it's
legit."
Mueller is expected to present a report to the Justice Department any day
now outlining the findings of his nearly two-year investigation into Russian
election meddling, possible collusion with Trump campaign officials and
possible obstruction of justice by Trump .
Mueller is required to produce a confidential report that at a minimum
explains decisions about who was and was not prosecuted. Attorney General
William Barr is then expected to produce his own report for Congress and has
said he wants to make public as much of Mueller's findings as he can under the
law.
Trump said he was personally looking forward to reading the findings, even
as he scorned the fact that Mueller was empowered to write the report in the
first place.
"I just won one of the greatest elections of all time in the history of this
country. ... And now I have somebody writing a report that never got a vote?"
Trump said. "It's called the Mueller report. So explain that because my voters
don't get it. And I don't get it."
Trump went on to mischaracterize the effort, saying "it's sort of
interesting that a man out of the blue just writes a report."
The House voted unanimously last week for a resolution calling for any
report in Mueller's investigation to be made public. It was a symbolic action
designed to pressure Barr into releasing as much information as possible.
Trump and his outside attorneys have worked for months now to undermine
Mueller and cast doubt on his eventually findings. Trump continued that effort
Wednesday, calling Mueller "conflicted" and criticizing the lawyers who have
worked on the case.
Though Mueller's office has said nothing publicly about the timing of a
report, several prosecutors detailed to Mueller's team have left in recent
months, suggesting the investigation is winding down.
Trump, for his part, said he had no idea when the report would be released,
but maintained his innocence, saying there was "no collusion" and "no
obstruction. There was no nothing."
"With all of that being said," he added, "I look forward to seeing the
report."
(KA)